An Unexpected Change
by MadelineSnape Esq
Summary: Sandra isn't feeling quite right and a trip to the doctors leaves her pondering a big life changing event that she is unprepared for. Faced with conflicting emotions she gets a little unwanted help from Gerry, Jack, and Brian that just might turn out to be exactly what she needs. Sandra/Strickland. This stand alone story is all fluff from beginning to end.


This story is for StarkTony, I wrote this story as a Christmas present for her and in honor of her birthday I am posting it. Happy Birthday!

An Unexpected Change

Robert Strickland made his way down to the small UCOS office and was surprised to find Sandra Pullman asleep, curled up on the small red sofa. It was nearly six o'clock on a Thursday evening and he had come down to investigate why his wife was not answering her phone. He was well aware that when she got caught up in a case and was pushing for an arrest she could end up ignoring the outside world. He often had to come down and remind her and the rest of her team of their need to eat and sleep. Sandra and her team were currently in the middle of a case but there had yet to be any need for over time and he had expected to find Sandra in the pub with Gerry, Jack and Brian. Instead he discovered her asleep and the rest of her team gone, presumably the three men were at the pub without her.

"Sandra" he whispered and he crouched down giving her shoulder a shake trying to wake her up. She stirred slightly and rubbed her nose before turning her head away from him as she continued to sleep. Upon closer inspection she looked exhausted and he made the quick decision to let her remain asleep for a while longer. He had more paperwork waiting to be complete up in his office and maybe when he returned she would be easier to wake up.

He smiled to himself as he retrieved a nearby throw and draped it over her trying to make sure she would not be cold as she slept. Once she was covered he grabbed another and rolled it up tight before gently easing it under her head as a pillow.

"You sleep I'll be back" he whispered before he gently placed a loving kiss on her forehead. Strickland stood up and was heading to the door when he suddenly came face to face with Sandra's missing team.

"Sandra are you coming-" Gerry cried stopping when he caught sight of the other man.

"Shh" Strickland replied cutting him off with a glare, having made the decision to let her sleep he didn't like the idea of her three co-workers waking her up.

"Again?" Gerry complained but his voice was nothing more than a whisper this time.

"Outside" Strickland ordered them and the three men backtracked right out the door. "What do you mean again? And please keep your voice down I don't want her to wake up." He told the men.

"It won't matter how loud we talk never wakes her up" Gerry huffed at him. Strickland wasn't sure if Gerry was upset because he had been told to be quiet or if he was upset at their inability to wake the woman.

"This is the third time this week we have found her asleep on that sofa. Each time she had promised to meet us at the pub but never showed up. We tried calling her on both her mobile and her office phone no answer and apparently it never wakes her. Each time we came back here to investigate and we found her just like she is now asleep and not matter how hard we tried she refused to wake up. So we gave up and went home." Jack said providing him with more information.

"What exactly have you two been up to this week?" Gerry asked him with a look.

"Excuse me?" Strickland replied confused as to what the older man was trying to ask him.

"Gerry in his own way is trying to insinuate that you have been keeping her busy in bed this week and therefore keeping her up at night." Jack explained slightly embarrassed.

"I have not been keeping her up" he exclaimed. "Though even if I was I wouldn't share that information with you." Strickland growled narrowing his eyes at the other man until a though occurred to him. "Actually she has been falling asleep on the sofa while we've been watching telly just about every night this week. I thought she was just working extra hard but if you're telling me she has been asleep here at night before coming home…" he left the thought hanging. He was quickly beginning to worry about the woman he loved deeply.

"That hardly seems like normal sleeping habits" Brian pointed out.

"Maybe she is coming down with something like a cold or the flu?" Jack suggested.

"She hasn't complained of anything to me, has she said anything to you three?" Strickland asked concerned that there truly was something wrong with his wife and he had failed to notice.

"No except for her excessive sleeping nothing has seemed out of the ordinary" Jack answered him.

"Not unless you count the fact that she started to cry when Brian showed her that baby penguin video on the internet. That was out of the ordinary but then again I shared it with Paula and she nearly cried too. She said it was too adorable for words. So then maybe it is just a woman thing." Gerry told them and the three others simply looked at him unhappily.

"She also complained this morning that her coffee didn't sit right she felt like she might be sick" Brian added.

"Maybe Sandra should go see her doctor for a normal office visit I am sure she hasn't been to her GP as she should" Jack suggested when he had finished glaring at Gerry.

"I am a hundred percent sure she hasn't, but convincing her to go is going to be difficult" Strickland replied with a sigh.

"Well if she keeps this up she needs to go see a doctor" Gerry reminded him.

"Why don't you wake her up and take her home" Jack suggested.

"If we couldn't wake her how is he going to?" Gerry huffed.

"I tried once she didn't seem to want to wake" Strickland added.

"I am sure as her husband you can figure out some way to wake your wife up. And while you see to her we are going back to the pub." Jack informed him with a determined nod.

"I might suggest fluids, lots of fluids, orange juice is good" Brian told him.

"Tell her if she is sick she better not come in to work and get us all sick too" Gerry ordered him before all three men turned to leave.

"Have a good night guys" he called to them as he turned his attention back to the office and the sleeping woman.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

"Where's Sandra?" Jack asked Strickland as he entered the office the following morning. The younger man was standing in the middle of the UCOS office alone. His coat and briefcase were lying on the sofa and he was standing there looking concerned and impatient.

"In the ladies I believe, she rushed off the moment we got in. I didn't want to leave till I knew she was alright. I think she is in there throwing up, she looked green by the time we got here." He explained to Jack unhappily.

"What's wrong with her?" Jack asked slightly worried.

"She says it is carsickness. I drove us in this morning and through out the trip she kept looking at her phone. Her mother discovered how to text or something. Sandra claims that looking at the phone during the drive made her sick." Strickland explained further though his words make it clear he had doubts about the cause of her sickness.

"You don't believe her?" Jack asked.

"She has texted plenty of times while I drove never made her sick before."

"Sir might I suggest forcing her to see a doctor?" Jack suggested carefully.

"How exactly do I force her? I have been standing here trying to figure that out but I keep coming up empty."

"I don't know how but you married her you need to find a way. What if she gets sick while interviewing a suspect or worse at a dangerous moment?" Jack warned him and he knew the older man was correct.

"Yes of course you're right I will just have to find a new tactic, she didn't respond very well when I brought up the subject last night." He willingly agreed with a sigh and he ran a hand through his hair, it was too early in the day for him to be this concerned.

"Good luck" Jack whispered as Sandra entered the room.

"Don't say a word I am calling the doctor so you don't need to start with me." She huffed at him as she walked past him and into her office.

"Turns out you won't need to do anything" Jack replied with a shocked expression once Sandra was out of ear shot.

"Actually that has me far more concerned, will you excuse us." Strickland replied walking into Sandra's office and closing the door.

"Seriously Robert I am going to call right now" she told him annoyed as she said it. She had her mobile out and was clearly looking for the number.

"What's going on Sandra? You almost never voluntarily go to the doctors, you are actually scaring me" he asked her being honest.

"I do what you want and you flip your wig on me, I don't understand would you prefer I not go to the doctors and then you can tell me fifty times you think I should, so I finally end up making an appointment three days from now?" She huffed at him getting upset.

"No I absolutely want you to see a doctor asap but why are you being so agreeable?"

"I don't feel right, not sick except for that bought of carsickness which is what it was" she told him firmly and he wisely refrained from arguing. "I am tired all the time, I feel frustrated a lot and well I don't know how to describe it I just don't feel like myself. Something is clearly wrong and the sooner I just go to the doctors the sooner I will have you and those three off my back and I will feel better. Don't get use to this, I will not be this agreeable next time I'm sick." She warned him and fixed him with a glare.

"Don't worry I won't expect it I am just glad you are going to get checked out, I am worried about you."

"I'm sure it is nothing probably just coming down with a cold. Dinner last night didn't taste right and you know I always lose my sense of taste when I get a cold. The doctor probably won't even be able to do anything for me." She sighed as she sat down.

"But then you will know and you won't have to worry about it and you can focus on drinking orange juice and blowing your nose in peace." He reminded her trying to be encouraging.

"I am calling right now I will get the earliest appointment they have, hopefully today and I will let you know afterwards." She promised him picking up her phone once more.

"Thank you and I love you, I will leave you in peace" he assured her.

"I love you too, will you tell those three dinosaurs that I am seeing a doctor and they don't have to worry about it either, and close the door on your way out please." She asked him as she began to dial the number.

"Yes ma'am" he replied with a smile.

"I do love those words" she told him with a grin as he left.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Sandra walked out of the doctor's office in a daze. Of all the diagnoses the doctor could have given her this was the least expected yet it made perfect sense now that she thought about it. Instead of getting into her car she walked across the road into the nearby park. She needed a walk to clear her head.

Pregnant. How could she be pregnant? She had actually said that to the doctor who proceeded to laugh at her. Of course she knew how one got pregnant she just wasn't supposed to be one of the woman that did. Naturally there were several theories that made her condition possible even though they were using protection. In the end it didn't actually matter which one of them had been the cause, the end result was all that mattered now.

Sandra didn't know how to feel. It wasn't like the films where she was told the news and rushed home to tell the man she loved and they jumped up and down then fell into bed together and had sex. They hadn't been trying to have a baby they had never really even talked about it. They had only been married for little over a year, they were still settling in to this whole marriage thing.

Yet that wasn't what concerned Sandra she wasn't afraid to tell Robert she knew he would be happy. He was a great dad he loved his kids. She was the problem, she had no idea if she would make a good mum. Or if she could or should become one. She was not the overly maternal type. She had chosen her career over a family or at least she thought she had yet here she was a wife with a baby on the way. It was almost too surreal for her to believe.

The question was did she want to be a mum? Could she even do it if she tried? It wasn't fair to bring a child into a world where it couldn't be cared for properly. Sure Robert could handle it but he couldn't do it all on his own she needed to be his partner in this and how could she do that when she didn't have the first clue about how to be a mother.

She looked around the park as she walked, naturally all she seemed to see were mothers or child minders with toddlers and babies. They were all over the park. The only people who appeared to be out today were children and their guardians. Some were crying bloody murder or throwing a tantrum. Others looked perfectly angelic as they played with a toy or an adult. There seemed to be all aspects of parenthood arranged right in front of her like a painting in an art gallery. She found a nearby bench and sat down to take it all in. She hoped no one noticed her just watching all these children. She would hate to have to explain to a stranger that she was pregnant before she told her own husband.

Having a child looked so complicated, the bags of stuff you needed just to keep them happy while you were away from the house. Could she keep all of it organized and keep track of the child at the same time? Did she honestly have the patience to put up with the crying and the tantrums as well as the accidents and anything else that may arise? And what would happen to her job? Could she still do it while also focusing on a child? She wasn't really interested in a promotion but UCOS kept strange hours at times. Lots of people did manage it these days but could she?

Sandra felt her phone vibrate in her pocket for the fourth time since she entered the park. Reluctantly she pulled it out, two missed called from her husband two from the guys and even a text from Gerry.

"Must have taken him five minutes to write that." She said as she read it. While she was reading the text Gerry called her once more but again she refused to answer. She wasn't ready yet, she needed more time to think on her own. Her chest felt tight as the uncertainty ran through her body, hopefully if she could just sit on the bench alone she might be able to come to terms with the whole baby thing. Unfortunately to her dismay it appeared she wasn't going to get any peace and quiet. The three men proceed to call her for nearly ten minutes straight alternating between work phones and mobiles they even used her office phone. Finally when she could take no more she stood up and answered the latest call.

"What the hell do you three want? Has someone died? Someone better have died Gerry. Has someone died?" she yelled into her mobile.

"Well no and you would feel terrible if they had." He answered her trying to be smug.

"What do you want?" She cried into the phone once more her patience was already thin and they were doing nothing to improve it. "You three have called me constantly for ten minutes someone better be bleeding on the office floor."

"Not yet but give me a minute and Brian might be" Gerry growled.

"Oi I'm the one who should be hurting you" Brian cried back.

"Am I on speaker phone? One of you three had better tell me what the hell is going on and why I'm on bloody speakerphone. Jack?" She yelled at them once more.

"Where are you? Are you almost back here? Brian and Gerry won't stop fighting." Jack moaned into the speaker of the phone.

"No I am not close to the office, I have to stop at the chemist I was at the doctor's remember. What are they fighting about?" She growled back at the man, he was supposed to be the reasonable reliable one.

"I have no idea something stupid, they are both pouting at the moment Gerry might even cry." Jack informed her and she immediately heard objections from the other two.

"Did you tell her I was crying I would never cry how dare you Jack move away from the phone. Sandra you have to tell Brian he is wrong and crazy." Gerry cried loudly at the speaker.

"Gerry it isn't nice to call Brian crazy even if you don't agree with what he is saying" she reprimanded him, she took a deep breath trying to remain calm. They clearly were not going to respond to her anger they only seemed to ignore it.

"He crossed the line this time" Gerry shot back.

"I crossed the line? He's the one who went too far" Brian yelled in response.

"He is probably all upset because he's hungry it has been two hours since he last ate maybe you should pick him up a sandwich on your way back" Gerry proceeded to tease Brian.

"I can't help it if my brain requires more energy than yours. It's a wonder you need to eat at all but that is not why I'm upset and I am right by the way." Brian replied smugly clearly not insulted by Gerry's last statement.

"You are most certainly wrong" Gerry fired back quickly.

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Shut up all of you." She yelled at them, she was tired of the two fighting already. "I want all three of you to go sit at your desks and remain there till I get back do you understand." She continued yelling at them as if they were misbehaving children.

"Yes" Brian replied dutifully.

"Okay" Gerry grumbled.

"Got it" Jack agreed eagerly.

"Good when I get there, which should be in about half an hour, maybe more depending on traffic, I better find you three sitting quietly and if you need something to do you could try working on the case." She ordered them leaving no room for arguing.

"Could you bring me a sandwich?" Brian asked.

"Only if you behave" she replied firmly.

"I will" he promised.

"Ah Sandra if you're stopping for sandwiches..." Gerry asked.

"Yes I will get you one too Gerry, Jack?" She asked with a sigh.

"If you wouldn't mind."

"Silent no fighting, no throwing things, no nothing got it" she warned them before hanging up. Shaking her head in dismay at the antics of three grown men. "Those three are just like my kids..." she exclaimed and then stopped. She realized suddenly that she didn't have to worry about being a mother, she no longer doubted whether she could do it. She had practically been raising three pensioners for the last five years. In that moment she knew everything would be just fine.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

"Wow you three actually listened to me for once." Sandra marveled at them as she walked into the UCOS office forty minutes later..

"Did you-" Brian began.

"Here are your sandwiches as promised" she said handing them the food.

"Thank you" the three replied happily.

"What did the doctor say?" Jack asked as he sat back down with his sandwich.

"I'm fine you are still stuck with me, you're not getting rid of me yet." She told them playful.

"Then what's wrong with you?" Gerry asked eyeing her suspiciously.

"Iron deficiency she even took blood to be sure" she told them pulling up her sleeve to show them the bandage.

"That's it you sure you're not sick?" Brian asked his mouth already full of food.

"Yes that's all. I got vitamins see" she said shaking the bag she was still holding. "I will be good now so you can all get off my back. I got you food now no more fighting understand?"

"Yes" they all agreed.

"Good, now if you will excuse me I have to go talk to Robert." She told them starting to turn around to walk back out the door.

"Please do he has been down here twice looking for you" Jack called to her and she turned back around.

"Why weren't you answering you phone he said he called you as well?" Gerry asked giving her a look.

"I went for nice walk in the park also doctor's orders." She lied to them skillfully. "But it wasn't as peaceful as it should have been because you lot kept calling now eat" she ordered before she left them alone once more.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

Sandra softly knocked on Strickland's office door. She was suddenly very nervous, she had been so sure he would be happy but now she wasn't as confident.

"Come" he called his tone was all business.

"Hi" she said as she slipped in and closed the door behind her.

"Sandra hi you're back" he exclaimed happily. Standing up he quickly came over and kissed her.

"Yes I am" she answered quietly.

"Where have you been? Why didn't you pick up your phone?" he asked very concerned.

"I'm sorry I went for a walk to clear my head. Then the guys kept calling and I finally had to answer them." She told him avoiding the main topic for a moment longer.

"Are you alright why did you need to clear your head?"

"Big life changing events usually require a moment of reflection." She answered him cryptically and he just looked at her in confusion and concern.

"Sandra you are scaring me, please tell me what is going on?" he begged her.

"Sorry I don't mean to alarm you nothing is wrong… I'm pregnant. I know this wasn't planned and it is completely unexpected and while we never actually talked about kids I think it is a good thing, could be a good thing for us. At least that is how I feel I hope you feel the same way." She told him rambling on she was afraid to let him talk for fear of his answer.

"A baby? We're going to have a baby?" he asked in shock.

"Yes that is generally the end result" she replied still unsure how he felt.

"We're going to have a baby" he exclaimed excited this time. He then took her face in her hands and kissed her passionately.

"I take it you're happy about this?" she gasped when he finally stopped kissing her and she could breath once more. His reaction made it pretty clear but she needed to hear him say it.

"I think it is brilliant perfect the best news ever" he said kissing her once more.

"Good I'm glad" she replied with a smile.

"You didn't think I would be happy?" he asked surprised.

"I wasn't sure I was happy about it" she admitted.

"You were upset?"

"No, not upset, worried that I couldn't do it, that I would be a terrible mother. I knew you would be a great dad because you already are one, but I think this is something we both need to be good at." She answered him raising a child had to be a partnership she knew that much for sure.

"But now you are happy about it you did just tell me that you thought it was a good thing?" He questioned trying to understand how she felt.

"Yes I am happy about it and it is a good thing" she told him firmly.

"Is that what the walk was about?"

"Yes trying to figure out how I felt."

"What convinced you? All the kids in the park?" He joked slightly.

"Actually it was Gerry, Jack, and Brian" she answered with a smile.

"Really?" he was truly shocked this time.

"Yes, I told you they wouldn't stop calling me, they did it for ten minutes straight I am not joking. When I finally answered the phone they were fighting over something stupid, Gerry and Brian that is and Jack was of no help in controlling them." She began trying to explain to him.

"Isn't that a normal occurrence for your team?"

"Exactly I've been parenting them for years, compared to them a baby should be easy. At some point there is a chance our child will listen to me while those three never do."

"That is very true. They don't know do they?" He asked referring to the baby.

"No I wasn't about to tell them before I told you" she assured him.

"Are you going to tell them?"

"At some point yes, I think they might notice a change after a while" she laughed. "I probably won't tell them right away though. Let this be our secret for a little while."

"What did you tell them about your trip to the doctor's then?"

"I told them I have an iron deficiency, which is true by the way she took blood just to be sure. I have been assured the prenatal vitamins should take care of it." She informed him holding up the bag once more. "And that should also take care of their questions for the next two or three weeks."

"I love you so much you know that right?" he asked her.

"I do and I love you just as much if not more" she replied playfully.

"Any way you could sneak out early today? I am sure your boss wouldn't mind it is Friday afterall." He asked pulling her close to him.

"And what am I suppose to do with those three children downstairs?" she asked him continuing to be playful.

"Send them to the pub" he answered with a grin.

"That is a very good idea" she agreed.

"And then we can go celebrate" he added.

"I love celebrating with you, though that is how I got in this condition in the first place" she reminded him.

"Yes it is and all the more reason to celebrate."

"Do you really think I will be a good mum?" she asked him being serious once more. She was still a little worried and needed conformation from him that she could actually do it.

"Once of the best, I know it" and he silence any more of her doubts with another kiss.


End file.
